Eurozone easing as joblessness is stable

Eurozone unemployment was stable in November, prompting some analysts to suggest that the region’s problems might be beginning to abate.

Although the jobless number rose 4000 in the month, that followed a large fall in October and left the total rate at 12.1% for the eighth consecutive month, according to Eurostat. “The region’s labour market downturn is starting to ease”, said James Howat of Capital economics. “Survey measures of employment intentions suggest that eurozone employment might start expanding again over the coming quarters, albeit at a slow pace.”

In Portugal and Ireland the jobless rate declined to 15.5% and 12.3% respectively. In Spain the rate remained steady at 26.7%, although the numbers classified as out of work actually fell by 24,000 in the month. However, in Italy the jobless rate rose to 12.7%, with 58,000 more people registered out of work. France’s jobs market is also stagnant, with the jobless total rising by 10,000 and the rate steady at 10.8%. The most recent figures for Greece relate to September and showed an unemployment rate of 27.4%.

Youth unemployment in the eurozone was 24.2%, up from 23.9% in November 2012 and leaving 3.6 million young people out of work. Total unemployment was lowest in Austria and Germany, where the jobless rate was 4.8% and 5.2% respectively.